Thank you very much!

No problem. Have fun, everyone!

Thanks, Ur!

I am looking forward to this.

Thank you so much! Might want to change the tags so that more people don’t try to join, I had an issue with that in the last PbP campaign I did.

Our story begin on the board of the "Leprechaun", a small sailing ship sailed all the way from the far Baldur Gates, through Calishman and the Trackless Sea to the prosperous city of Port Nyanzaro. The journey wasn't without it's own difficulties. The seasickness, of course, is always a problem for the unexperienced, and some folk find the long trip over the never changing sea boring and monotonous.  The most interesting thing to happend during the trip was a rare pirate attack, on a night full of fog. The pirates couldn't predict, though, the presence of not one, but five brave adventures on the ship, and the fight was done in a minutes. Despite the relatively short time our characters spend together, the short fight for their lives is quite the thing that bond, and a party began to form, forged by the taste of the bitter drink and stories told in the wee hours of the night.

Two other people were sailing with the characters. The first one is Xandala, a half elf sorcerer who claims to search for her father, named Artus Cimber, that went to the jungles of Chult a couple of months ago, and never came back. Her skin is quite light, and a bit grayish, maybe a result of a childhood disease - none of you have the ability to determine, or the audasity to ask. Another unique feature of her is her clear draconic bloodline, manifest in patches of scales around her noise and in her hands. She didn't hide her powers from the group, and showed amazing control other magic in the battle with the pirates. She is kind of arrogant, and seems to hold herself above other human beings, but also have a deep understanding of the depths of soul, and not ones she gave great advices to some of you, and even succeed cure Naru's seasickness. She always accompanied by her loyal familiar, a pseudodragon named Summerwise, a surprisingly good-hearted creature, in sharp contrast to it's chromatic heritage.

But the owner of the ship is the initiator of the journey. A traveling merchant, one that her tanned skin indicates the long time she spent under the sun, and the scars on her limbs make her a woman that been through dangers in her life, and survive them all. Or, maybe not all of them, since there is a clear hardness in her movement. She coughing non-stop, and parts of her skin is shedding. Its easy to tell the reason for this - she clearly suffering from the death curse. She is a strong woman, and the fact that the ship sailing in a steady pace toward Port Nyanzaro without a crew to direct and maintain it, point on some affinity to magic. Nevertheless, the plot gets complicated as the first signs to a land in a long time are seen.

The party where sitting on the dock, half-drunk, under the full moon, mugs of ale in their hands, or wine in the case o Xandala. Summerwise just showed them his recent catch - a yellow starfish he found in the water, whose yellow skin shined like the brightest of lanterns. But just when drunk Donnyl tried to check if he can light up the starfish, Syndra showed up, limping towards them. She sat down, indifferent to the stares of the group, and took a mug of ale for herself. Despite her sickness, her eyes were strong and steady when she looked at each of the adventures. 

"You probably wonder, why I hired so much bodyguards for such a tiny ship. The truth is, that I didn't hire you to guard the ship. Not only". Here voice is dry, like here throat didn't taste water for weeks. She takes a sip of ale, and continue. "The truth is, that I'm dying. This demonic curse struck me twenty days ego. I can feel my bones crackling. I can feel the life drained out of me. I need time, and I barely got any". She takes another sip.

"The truth is, that I need you. My sources discover that the origin of the curse is here, in the jungles of Chult. My request is, that you find the source of the course, an artifact name the Soulmonger, and destroy it. I'll give you anything you want. Anything". Her voice broke. For a moment, no one talk, but then, a tacit consent form within the group. It is Summerwise who answer. "We will do anything we can, Syndra. I swear in this starfish". A pact was made in this night. a pact to do whatever you can to stop the curse. Syndra thanks you weakly, and return to her cabin.

In the day after, just when the morning rain finally stop, the ship passed the great lighthouse, which lighten up the entire area with it's burning flame, and then the great statue of Na N'buso, the greatest king of Chult. The statue is an astonishing creation. The  smooth stone portraying a Chultan man, his wearings made of varoius jungle animals - leopard skin, monkey tails, crocodile teeth, etc. In his hands, he is wielding the traditional Chultan weapons - a circular shield and the unique long-spear name yklwa, found only in the Chultan peninsula. 

Tha part could see the docks, full of shouting people in various languages, multiple types of dinosaurs serve as beasts of burden, and above all, the smell of the fertile soil and a freshly washed wood. But Syndra direct the ship not to the main docks, but to the lateral docks, which are a lot more quite then the regular one. The harbor workers already waiting to the ship, all dark-skinned Chultans, and when the ship finally arrive, they tie it quickly, and turn to help Syndra get off the ship.

After the party set foot on the land, for the first times in weeks, Syndra turn to them. "It's time to say goodbye. I have a friend here, Wakanga. I'll be in his villa if you need me, but for now, I suggest you search for a place to stay. most of the Inns in the city are located in the Red Bazzar, and you probably can find a local guide to help you in your journey. Remember, time is precious to me. The curse will destroy me in a matter of month. God speed". and with that, the wizard/merchant toddle into the great city, and leave you in the docks.

But one final surprise is left, in the bag Salome. A map of Chult. The thing required for any good adventure. And it seems, that one of those adventures wait to our characters, over the horizon.

Here is the map. The blank spots are unknown areas:


 

Naru steps onto the docks. “I don’t get seasick,” he could be heard murmuring.  “That boat didn’t move right on the water.”  He scans the docks with a knowing eye.  Closer to the main dock he spies what he is searching for.  Nodding his head towards the small, weathered building at the edge of the bustling main docks, “that should be the Harbor Master’s.  We should be able to find out where to find a guide there.”

Naru pulls the additional flap of leather sewn to his backpack over his left shoulder.  “Tika, stay close.  There are many strange things here.”  She lands lightly on his shoulder and keeps a watchful eye.  The pseudo dragon continues to dominate her attention.

Salome - a human with dark skin, green eyes and black hair - is happy to set her foot back on the land. On the ship, she noticed how quickly she missed the land and the jungle close to her home. But, so far, the excitement of a new adventure in a far away land was stronger than the melancholia.

Salome readjusts her quiver and her longbow on her shoulders and looks at the group of *slightly* drunk adventurers on the piers. She started her journey not knowing what will be ahead and ready for time of solitude. But, during the travel, she befriended this group of misfits. Although  this was very quick battle, the fight against pirates accelerated the bonding between them. A blessing in disguise one could say.

Salome took a few minute to adjust, the smell of the spices, the dinosaurs, the music coming for the bazar and the tavern were an invitation to loose herself in the city. She then nods at Naru: “I agree, this is a new place for all of us I believe. Let’s stick together and find a place to rest.”. Playing with her necklace, she adds “I will have to ask a few questions around, and what a better place than a tavern or an Inn”. She is still wondering how she could find this Artus and Xanala, looking for him as well, kept her lips tights on any information during the travel.

Shardul scans the unfamiliar area. He looks completely out of place, with his heavy garb and large form. Shar’s red hair and blue eyes don’t help to blend in, especially on a half-orc. “I’m just glad to get off of that boat,” he rumbles, his voice a rich baritone.

Adjusting the greataxe on his back, Shar turns to the rest of the group and says, “A guide would be useful. Plundering blindly into the unknown is dangerous, and the more that we can know about the area we are about to enter would be useful.”

Firebrand follows close behind the others, hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He raises his snout the the air and takes a couple of sniffs, then turns his attention back to his fellow adventurers.

"I agree that finding someone to guide us is an excellent idea," the Dragonborn says as he scans the area. "But we'll need to find someone with nerves of steel to if everything we have been told is true. The last thing we need is for our guide to run away in terror from the danger we face."

Seeing general agreement, Naru heads off towards the harbormaster’s.  He walks into the building and looks for the local equivalent of the registrar’s desk.  He approaches the clerk there.

”Hello.  I am Naru of Fyreton.  Can you point me in the direction of an inn? “

Charisma check: [roll]1d6+1[\roll]

2

Charisma check (add +1 modifier):  16

Interested if not to late